Roll With It

After struggling through last week in terms of work stress, piles of homework, and wedding planning, the past few days have had their share of good news. In going with the theme of wedding planning since we’re really in the thick of it now (6 months to go!), fiancé and I just realized we have officially reached our savings goal to comfortably pay for the wedding, and still have plenty left over. This is a great realization and relief, since we really cut back on our day to day activities and spending to make sure we met our monthly savings quota. Not that we plan on changing anything that we’ve been doing, but it’s nice to know we’ll have some cushion room too!

Even though I haven’t been running (thanks, foot) I have been dreaming about the moment I can comfortably go for a run without feeling like my foot might snap in half. I’m still not sure if I’m going to run the half marathon in April (just because I haven’t been able to train properly, aka at all), but I have every intention of signing up for the Philadelphia Marathon on April 1st when registration opens. My first full mary will probably be my first race post wedding – double excitement!

For dinner on Tuesday, I wanted to somehow use wonton/eggroll wrappers, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do. I grabbed a bag of rainbow cabbage mix at the grocery store over the weekend, and just hoped for the best. What I actually got were some pretty awesome veggie eggrolls, that served alongside some steamed vegetables and a salad was the perfect weeknight meal! The best part was that they tasted fried, but I didn’t have to actually suffer through any flying oil, and they wound up (hopefully) healthier. It took about 20 minutes in total to prepare, and was super easy. The package of wontons I got had quite a few in it, so I’m hoping to try my hand at some Southwestern eggrolls later this week.

Easy Baked Eggrolls
– Makes 8 rolls –

Ingredients:
8 eggroll wrappers (I used Nasoya brand)
1/2 bag Rainbow cabbage mix (I used  Mann’s)
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Sambal Olek
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp Chinese 5 spice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Heat oil in skillet, and add cabbage mixture, pepper, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, until cabbage mixture begins to wilt
3. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire, Sambal Olek, and 5 spice. Cook additional 5 minutes
4. Once mixture is well combined and heated through, remove from heat. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into middle of wrapper, and fold in each side, starting at the bottom and rolling as you work your way up.  Place the rolled wrappers on a greased baking sheet.
5. Brush some oil on the top of each of the rolls before placing in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes on the top rack in the oven.

A Perfect Little Sunday

This past Sunday, still high from my bridesmaid dress shopping win, the fiancé and I set out to make our guestbook for the wedding. I had seen on The Broke Ass Bride, the idea to use a picture calendar (made on Shutterfly) as a guestbook instead of the traditional plain page books. That got my creative juices flowing, and after receiving a coupon code from David’s Bridal for a free 8×8 20 page hard covered picture book, I knew exactly what we were going to do! So after combing through a bunch of pictures we put everything together and ordered it! I’m so excited to see the final product.

We then only spent $50 at the grocery store for the week (win #2), and decided to celebrate with a trip to Chipotle. Well, the trip had already been planned, but we felt a lot less guilty about spending the money on dinner, especially since we had a coupon for buy one get one free thanks to the new show America’s Next Great Restaurant! As you can see, this whole wedding planning and saving money idea has really been rubbing off on me – I’m hell-bent on finding the best deals for everything. I’m pretty sure the fiancé and my wallet are thanking me! And the burrito I devoured could barely be rolled and wrapped shut… YUM!

Baking was done, as well. I made a batch of Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Sugar-Free and Flourless Chocolate and Oatmeal Cookie Clusters. They were SO good! I added 2 Tbsp of coconut oil to give it some extra flavor, and they were really great. They’re so easy, and you probably have all of the ingredients already. Go make them!

I came home to an e-mail to find out I had won RunAddict’s Zensah giveway was a sweet addition to the already positive weekend, too! It ended peacefully watching The Oscars, with dreamboats James Franco and Anne Hathaway (yes, they are BOTH dreamboats).

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I hope everyone else had a successful and enjoyable weekend – I know I needed it! Now on to tackle the week… at least it’s above 35 degrees!

Southwestern Breakfast Bake

Thankfully, Saturday’s excursion to find Bridesmaid dresses was a success! Not only did we find those dresses, but my mom also found her dress, and I stumbled upon an adorable dress I’m planning to wear for either the rehearsal dinner or bridal shower, and will definitely be taking on my honeymoon. Triple score at Macy’s!

After the shopping trip, I had worked up a serious appetite, and since I had been out pretty much all day, felt as though I needed to spend a little time in the kitchen. This recipe really didn’t require much kitchen time, though, because as soon as a I put it in the oven, I went off to do a 30 minute yoga session. If any of you have iPads, iPhones, iPod touches, Macs, etc., I highly recommend Pocket Yoga (the app) – you can choose between three different practice styles, three levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced), and also three lengths of practice. It also has a library of all of the poses, and a few sun salutation sets also. I’m no yogi, but I’m really enjoying it!

But back to the food. It’s a really yummy twist on a quiche, and by naming it “breakfast pie,” it gets you excited for something different. Even though it’s a savory pie and isn’t sweet, it rightfully owns the title. The great thing about a breakfast bake, quiche, etc. is that you can really throw anything into the mix; anything goes. So I suggest getting creative!

Southwestern Breakfast Bake
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust
1 small onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 chile peppers of your choice (I used habaneros)
1/4 cup corn
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp taco seasoning (I used chipotle, but any flavor will do)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Adobo
6 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream, or Greek yogurt (I used plain Chobani)
2/3 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 scallion, chopped

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Sauté diced onion and peppers about 3-5 minutes. Add spices, and continue to cook an additional 2 minutes. Add corn and black beans, continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes.
3. Place pre-made pie crust in a greased pie dish, and layer cooked bean, corn, and pepper mixture.
4. Whisk eggs together in a medium bowl, adding the sour cream/Greek yogurt. Mix in cheese and cilantro until combined, and pour mixture into pie dish.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes, top with scallions, and a sprinkling of cheese (if desired) and cook for additional 5 minutes.
6. Serve with additional sour cream/Greek yogurt, and salsa

Eggy Pasta

Here I was just the other day going on and on about how I’m not a big breakfast fan (specifically eggs), and then I go and have eggs for dinner! I know, I confuse myself sometimes. But when I found this Recipe on Real Simple’s site under their Quick Meals section, I figured I’d give it a whirl. My fiancé has been going for physical therapy for his ankle injury post half marathon, and they’re hour-long visits twice a week,  either an hour or two after work. So, I’ve been trying even harder than usual to come up with quick and easy dinners we can have either before he goes to PT, or when he gets back.

The recipe only requires a few ingredients, and aside from cooking the pasta and sautéing the veggies then combining it all with a cheesy eggy mixture, there isn’t much work involved. Plus, if you are looking for an easy way to get some protein in a non-meat way, this badboy has four whole eggs in it (and according to their nutrition info, has 17g of protein)! I could definitely see this as a brunch dish, for someone that can’t really decide if they want more of breakfast, or lunch. The only modification I made to the recipe was adding extra red pepper flakes (of course), and using whole wheat spagetti. It’s also great because you’ll likely have some variation of all of the required ingredients already in your fridge/pantry. I’m definitely keeping this on my “Uhh… what can I make for dinner?” go to list!

Scrambled Pasta via Real Simple
– Serves  4 –

Ingredients:
1/4 of a 1-pound box of spaghetti (about 2 cups cooked)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 green Italian frying pepper or 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 whole scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:
1. Cook spaghetti according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the green pepper, scallions, and crushed red pepper (if desired) until tender but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the Parmesan and salt; add them to the skillet with the spaghetti and basil. Toss gently over heat until eggs are set.
4. Serve with grated Parmesan and crusty bread.

I know the alphabet

I know, I’m just like everyone else doing the ABC’s. But I realized I don’t really share that much personal information on my blog, so I figured now would be a fun time to do that!

A. Age: 24

B. Bed size: I’m 99.9% sure it’s a queen

C. Chore you dislike: all of them…

D. Dogs: None of my own, but my parent’s dog, Kennedy, is my first official pet dog and the #1 man in my life (sorry Andy)!

E. Essential start to your day: Enough time to lay in bed and think about the day ahead, followed by coffee and some cuddling with Leela the cat

F. Favorite color: Green! And I’m currently on the hunt for the perfect shade of green for my bridesmaid dresses

G. Gold or silver: Usually silver, but I like to spice it up with gold here and there

H. Height: 5’6″

I. Instruments you play(ed): I played the flute in 4th and 5th grade, does that count?

J. Job title: Implementation & Support Specialist

K. Kids: Does the cat count?

L. Live: New Jersey (insert fist pump here)

M. Mom’s name: Susan

N. Nicknames: Dan, Dani, Heff

O. Overnight hospital stays: None

P. Pet peeves: We don’t have that kind of time!

Q. Quote from a movie: “NO Todd, NOT NOW”

R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Kate (aka “Just Kate,” because that’s the name on her birth certificate, it isn’t short for anything but people refuse to believe it!)

T. Time you wake up: Alarm goes off at 6:45, I’m out of bed by 7:15

U. Underwear: Yes please.

V. Vegetables you dont’ like: I don’t think there is one!

W. What makes you run late: I don’t. I guess that’s one of my biggest pet peeves, it drives me insane when someone else is late, and even more so if it’s me!

X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth (obviously), finger when I broke it

Y. Yummy food you make: I think most of what I make is yummy, but I’m usually most proud of my baked goods (I seem to struggle with them the most)

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys and Penguins

I hope everyone has a relaxing Saturday… I’m off on a hunt for the perfect shade of green dress for my bridesmaids (see letter F). Followed by a hopefully victorious shopping trip at Trader Joe’s. Fingers crossed, and here’s to hoping I don’t wind up like this…

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Mind Your Pea’s and Queue’s

Even though it was a whopping 60 degrees last Friday, I awoke to a light dusting of snow on Monday morning. With such a quick change in temperature, I was ready to have something warm for dinner; enter Vegetarian Times’ Smoky Split Pea Soup! I’ve never had split pea soup, so I didn’t have much to compare it to. But as soon as I saw that there were Chipotle chiles, sweet potatoes, and onions involved, I was game.

The recipe called for split peas, since it was split pea soup after all. I however had a bunch of canned peas from Shoprite’s Can-Can Sale, so I decided to use them instead. Due to this change up, the recipe took about half the amount of time it was intended to, which I was more than okay with. I also didn’t have a can of diced tomatoes, so I threw in a can of stewed tomatoes instead. I think it worked nicely, since tomatoes tend to get soft and plump in soups anyway. Other than that, I followed the recipe. So because I didn’t need to really cook my peas, rather just heat them up, I only left the soup on the stove top for about 20 minutes to make sure it was heated through. Oh, and to kick up the heat (because I never learn my lesson), I added a habanero.

And, if you’re totally confused as to why I decided to name this post with queue, that’s just my nerdy side coming out. After telling people all day about things “being in the queue” I giggled to myself when thinking up a name for this post, and had the opportunity to use the word. I mean really, how often can one use the word queue outside of the computer realm?!

Smoky Split Pea Soup via Vegetarian Times
– Serves 6 –

Ingredients:
1 cup green split peas
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (3 cups)
2 medium onions, diced (3 cups)
3 ribs celery, diced (1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes

Directions:
1. Soak split peas in large bowl of cold water overnight. *
2. Heat oil in 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add paprika and chipotle, and stir. Add sweet potato, onions, and celery, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and cook 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic, and sauté 2 minutes.
3. Drain split peas, and add to pot with 6 cups water. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour. Add tomatoes, and cook 30 minutes more, or until split peas are tender. *
*Like I said, you could probably cut the time down to about 20-30 minutes of cooking time if you use canned peas. You’ll just want to make sure it’s heated through, and the sweet potato chunks are tender.

Veggie Loaded Burgers and Fries

It’s no secret that I love veggie burgers. I know that for a lot of people that eat meat, they think they’re a sad comparisons to the real deal, and are less than flavorful. Since I very rarely eat meat these days, veggie burgers are a quick and easy addition to my weekday lunches, and sometimes dinner. But before I was conscious about my meat intake, I enjoyed veggie burgers. My favorites are Morningstar Farm’s Spicy Black Bean, and Dr. Praeger’s California. However, I’ve always been willing to try and make my own.

Over the summer I tried my hand at some, and they were more like sloppy joes, which was okay but somewhat frustrating. So, when I received the Taste of Home Cookbook from a coworker for Christmas, I was excited to see a few different veggie burger recipes inside. It’s a really easy recipe, that would probably be even easier if I had  a food processor to mash the beans. But even still, the process of mashing the beans and combining everything only took about 5 to 10 minutes. After trying to cook them according to the recipe, I resolved to just throwing them in the oven, which proved to be very successful.

I served the burgers alongside some parsnip fries. Confession: up until this meal, I had never, ever, eaten a parsnip. I was a little nervous when I decided to make them just because it was a new taste for both me, and my fiancé. But since we’re both always up for trying new things, and I’ve seen them on plenty of blogs that I consider to have good taste, I gave them a shot. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. I’d prefer sweet potato fries over these, but they were a nice change of pace! I just peeled and sliced them, tossed them with some Adobo and roasted them at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Black Bean Cakes – adapted from The Taste of Home Cookbook
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed (I used canned)
1/2 cup chunky salsa
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream (I used plain Chobani Greek yogurt)

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork. Stir in the egg white, onions, 1/4 cup of cilantro, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Shape into eight 2 1/2 inch patties.
2. In a small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook patties in batches in the oil for 2-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown*
3. In a small bowl, combine the corn, salsa, and remaining cilantro; spoon over cakes, and garnish with sour cream (or in my case, Greek yogurt).

*Like I said, I had trouble with this. So I threw them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes till they were heated throughout and had a firm crisp (but not to crispy) top.

Spicy Eggplant Stir-Fry

I’ve been on a bit of an eggplant kick lately, and factored it in to last week’s meals again. I had every intention of making some breaded and fried eggplant to go along side some simple pasta earlier in the week, but the hectic work-week took over, and it was left for Saturday night. The eggplant was on it’s way out, but after doing so research I learned it would still be okay to eat, just possibly bitter. I made sure to cook it a little longer than I normally would have to hopefully cook out the bitter flavor, and instead of breading and frying it, chopped it up and made a stir fry of sorts.

I wasn’t completely sure what I was doing, so I kind of just threw some ingredients together. I don’t have any type of fish or oyster sauce, but I did have some Worcestershire sauce, so I figured that would have to work instead. The entire recipe only took about 15-2o minutes to make from start to finish, which was perfect considering I had spent 4+ hours reading and doing homework that day. Who would have thought online grad school would be so time consuming?! (Oh right, I knew that). One of these days I’ll have the time to bread and fry up some nice eggplant slices. But until then, I’ll keep throwing it into a stir-fry of sorts!

Spicy Eggplant Stir-Fry
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant, peeled and cubed
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or Oyster sauce)
1 Tbsp hot chili sesame oil
2 Tbsp red chili paste
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
Your favorite noodles (pad thai, soba, lo mein, etc.) or rice

Directions:
1.  Heat wok or skillet over medium high heat with oil. Add eggplant and sauté 5-10 minutes, until tender and heated through. Remove from heat (place in a separate bowl).
2. Cook noodles or rice according to package
3. Add onion and pepper, and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and sauté for an additional 2-4 minutes.
4.  Add eggplant back into mixture, and cook additional 3-5 minutes, making sure to combine everything well
5. Add cooked noodles, making sure to fully coat in the sauce and combining ingredients.

Coconut Oil and No Bake Goodies

After seeing Foodie Fresh’s awesome month of coconut giveaways from Tropical Traditions, I decided to head over to their site to check everything out – I was totally intrigued by their coconut peanut butter. I stumbled upon a section where you could sign up to review a product of theirs, and I jumped at the potential offer. I love coconut, and seriously would have been happy with anything they sent. So, when I received an e-mail that I was selected and would be receiving a 32oz. jar of their Virgin Coconut Oil, I was psyched.

This recipe comes from Oh She Glows, and it looked absolutely amazing. When I first saw it, I didn’t have coconut oil, so I was a bit disappointed I wouldn’t be able to make it, since she explicitly noted that other oils might change the flavor. As soon as I got the Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions, though, I knew I could make these delicious coconut macaroons.

The coconut oil is delicious. Like I said, I’m a huge coconut fan, and even though I’ve never knowingly had anything with coconut oil in it, it really adds a nice hint of coconut flavor. As soon as I opened the jar I could smell coconut, and couldn’t wait to get it into liquid form (only needed about 20 seconds in the microwave) to devour it. I’m so excited I have such a large jar, because I’m definitely going to use it in more baked goods in the future!

And the best part about this recipe? The whole thing took me about 5 minutes, and they were ready. If I didn’t have the little bit of self-control I do possess, they would have been devoured even faster. The only change up I did was instead of using almond milk, I went with coconut milk for added flavor, and also that it was the only milk in the house. I wonder if I could somehow turn these into peanut butter, coconut, and chocolate macaroons…

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Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review in return for the free product.

Breakfast of Champions

While I was swimming, I often had to wait until after practice to enjoy a “real” breakfast, since practice was usually anywhere from 5:30a to 9a, depending on the day, and season. When I got home, I was always ravenous, and since I had already been up for quite a few hours, wasn’t really interested in typical breakfast food. Being a huge bologna fan (I grew up eating bologna and American cheese sandwiches cut into quarters, with an offset of real juice and tons of veggies for lunch), I oftentimes made myself a bologna and cheese sandwich, with an iced coffee. It’s a totally weird (and to some gross) combination, especially for breakfast. My mom liked to joke that it was “the breakfast of champions.”

For Valentine’s day, I bought the fiancé a French press, because he’s been wanting one for ages. I know nothing about them, so I just went with what was rated highly on Amazon, a Bodum Brazilian press. Since it’s a little more time consuming compared to your average cup of brewed coffee, we decided to save it for the weekend. After boiling water, letting it sit so it wasn’t super hot, and then letting it all sit together for 4 minutes, we were ready to enjoy our first cup of French pressed coffee. Let me tell you, the flavor is completely different. We used our go-to coffee, Dunkin Donuts (French vanilla flavor), and it definitely didn’t taste like it does when we make it in our regular coffee maker. You can really taste the coffee flavor, and honestly, it tasted thicker. I know that sounds ridiculous, but as someone that always drinks their coffee black, sometimes it tastes a little too watery for my liking… but this was perfect. I’m definitely a French press convert!

Yup, that's me in the background getting my cook-on

Leaving the fiancé in charge (it is his, after all), I set out to make a breakfast scramble with tofu. I’ve made it no secret that I’m not a huge egg fan, so after reading a bunch of different vegetarian and vegan recipes using tofu instead, I decided to give it a shot. I went with a Southwestern theme, since that’s my go-to breakfast flavor combination, and it was really delicious. Since you don’t have to worry about making sure the eggs are cooked all the way, the whole entire thing took about 10 minutes, leaving us perfect timing for when the coffee was ready. I could have definitely had this wrapped up into a burrito, atop some toast, maybe in a casserole, or just how I had it, plain.

Southwestern Tofu Scramble
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
8 oz. package of tofu (pressed to remove excess water)
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
1/3 cup chunky salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheese (any blend will do)
1/4 cup cilantro
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp Adobo
1 tsp ground cumin
Sour cream or Greek yogurt (I used Chobani plain) for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat oil in skillet, and add onion, pepper, and jalapeno. Sautee for 5 minutes, adding spices half way through
2.  While the onion and pepper mixture is cooking, mash tofu in a bowl until it has the consistency of eggs
3. Add tofu, cilantro, salsa, and half the cheese mixture. Cook about 5 minutes, making sure everything is combined
4. Finish off with the rest of the cheese, mixing all the way through, and remove from the heat
5. Serve with the sour cream/yogurt and any other garnish you’d like